Coming Home
by A Amelia Black
Summary: Sequel to The Way Things Are.Edmund's story through Horse and his Boy and beyond. After fifteen years in Narnia, the Pevensies are pulled away, returning to England and their younger-selves. How will they handle losing Narnia and everyone they left behind
1. The Approaching Darkness

**Disclaimer:**** Narnia and everything in it belongs to C.S. Lewis **

**A/N:**** Firstly, a heart-felt welcome back and thank you to all my loyal readers and reviewers of The Way Things Are! I think I've definitely made you all wait long enough for this, so without further ado, I give you the sequel! (hands out biscuits and tea to readers)**

**P.S. – I highly recommend you read The Way Things Are before you read this (and I recommend Switched! as well), since the sequel will make a great deal more sense if you do : -) **

**Your reviews, comments, suggestions, fav parts/characters are always extremely welcomed and very much appreciated! **

**The Approaching Darkness**

In the year 900, Narnia fell into an endless winter due to the evil magic of the White Witch. There was no Christmas, no celebrations, and soon all Narnians lost hope that this winter would ever abate. However, there was one small flicker of hope remaining in a prophecy. When the four thrones at Cair Paravel were filled, the winter would end. Yet this was only a prophecy, and nothing had come of it yet. In the year 1000, however, four young children by the name of Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie entered Narnia, and the prophecy was fulfilled, bringing peace and happiness back to Narnia.

Their reign would be known as the Golden Ages, and those years were filled with laughter, justice, and adventure. Visits of state were paid to other countries, and those countries paid visits of state in return. Alliances were formed, wars in distant lands were fought, but the Kings and Queens of Narnia ensured that their country was always safe.

Eleven years into their reign, after battling in Calormen, Archenland, and north in the land of the Giants, and after fighting Sirrian and finally defeating him, there were several years of peace. Many unusual things had happened in those peaceful years, such as King Edmund and Queen Susan switching bodies accidentally, a young princess disguising herself as her brother in order to compete in the Narnian Annual Tournament, and of course the constant dealings with the royals of different countries – those tended to turn out more comedic of course. Then there was still the mystery of who exactly had helped the Kings and Queens of Narnia during the battle with Sirrian, a cloaked figure with unmatched swordsmanship, and the mystery of the amulets, the sort that always seemed to cause more problems than solve them. There had even been one point when Queen Lucy and King Edmund had to travel to the Far East to recover a stolen amulet that belonged to the Naiads of the Deep Sea, which had been quite the adventure itself. But that will be for a different story.

This story begins approximately one year after the switching incident of King Edmund and Queen Susan, eleven years into the Golden Ages of Narnia. There is a saying that if one knew just how much time they had left to live in the world, they would do all sorts of things that they might never have done. If the Kings and Queens of Narnia had realised just how little time they had left, perhaps things would have worked out differently…

--

"Too slow Ed!" laughed Lucy as she sprinted along the beach. She came to a halt, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Stop dossing about and catch up!"

"Just you wait, Lu!" yelled Edmund in retort as he ran after his younger sister. He forced himself to run a little faster, and Lucy shrieked with laughter, sprinting away. Only a few moments later, he managed to tackle her to the sand. "What were you saying about being too old?" He grinned, now sitting next to Lucy in the sand.

Lucy's eyes sparkled with laughter. "It's good to see that you still have a sense of humor, Ed. You're always locked up in the study, studying those dusty volumes. I wasn't sure if you still knew how to be sociable," she teased.

"Oi! I take offense to that Lu," protested Edmund. "Sue's worse!"

"I heard that," said the voice of their older sister from behind them.

Both Edmund and Lucy looked back at their sister, who was now standing only a few paces from them, along with Peter. "You were supposed to!"

"You two didn't even know we were here, how is that possible?" teased Susan as she sat down beside them.

"I have superb intellect, therefore I know all," said Edmund, attempting to look a little more intimidating. That failed when all of his siblings burst into laughter, along with him. "A chap can try, right?"

"Honestly you two, no one would know you were a King and Queen of Narnia with the way you were carrying on," said Susan with a shake of her head.

"Oh don't be such a wet blanket, Susan," laughed Peter. "Think of it as a way for them to release all of their energy."

"You make it sound as if you two were so much older than us," smirked Edmund, and he jabbed his brother in the arm. "You're only four years older than me, Peter."

"Therefore I ought to be the voice of reason," pointed out Peter.

"If you're the voice of reason, then I think we're all done for," retorted Edmund.

"Oi!" protested Peter.

"He does have a point, Peter," laughed Lucy.

"Not you too, Lu!"

"It has been proven multiple times that you try and do too much, so how, exactly, is that reasonable?" asked Edmund.

"You do take on quite a bit Peter," agreed Susan.

"I'm the High King, I'm supposed to!" said Peter.

"We've had this argument before, and you always lose, so just give over already," smirked Edmund.

"You three," said Peter with a shake of his head, but he was laughing.

"Your Majesties!" called a voice, and the four siblings turned to see Mr. Tumnus hurrying towards them.

"What is it, Mr. Tumnus?" asked Peter as the four of them stood.

Mr. Tumnus bowed his head briefly and said, "We've received a message from King Feldhliem of the Seven Isles. They require our assistance, it seems something is attacking their ships, and without those supplies, the islands will suffer. The signature is similar to _His_," explained Mr. Tumnus, referencing Sirrian.

At the mention of _Him_, Edmund felt his heart beat a little faster, but he kept his voice steady as he said, "Is there any more information?"

"None, your Majesty," said Mr. Tumnus.

Peter looked thoughtful as he gazed out over the ocean, and then looked back at his siblings. Then he turned back to Mr. Tumnus. "We will discuss this and I will inform you of our decision."

"Very well, your Majesty." Mr. Tumnus bowed his head and hurried off.

Peter turned to them, and said, "They are our allies. We ought to try and help."

"If it's something that's similar to _Him_, then we'd have the most experience," agreed Edmund, though the thought of anything in relation to _Him_ caused his stomach to turn.

"Perhaps it'll be something completely different," offered Lucy, putting a reassuring hand on Edmund's arm.

"But ships are still disappearing, regardless," said Susan.

"Then we're in accord?" asked Peter, looking at all of them.

"I should say so. Besides, it might be a grand adventure, and we haven't had one of those in the longest time!" said Lucy, excitement evident in her voice and eyes.

"It hasn't been that long ago, Lu," said Edmund with a chuckle.

"Either way, I'll pass it by the Council this evening. Then we will set sail immediately," said Peter.

"Race you back!" cried Lucy with a grin, and she started running towards the castle.

"You won't win this time!" yelled Edmund and he took off after her.

"Not if we get there first!" called Peter and Susan.

--

A few days later, they had set sail for the Seven Isles. Edmund stood on the deck next to Lucy, his fingers gripped the railing a little tighter than necessary. No matter how many times he had made a sea voyage, it always made a bit queasy. He supposed he ought to become used to it sooner rather than later – perhaps by the time he was old and gray-haired.

"Edmund!" called his Lucy from behind him, and Edmund turned to see his younger sister running towards him. "Would you come up to the crow's nest with me? I've heard it's a wonderful view, and you can see all the way to the horizon! It'll also take your mind off feeling ill."

"Yes, Lu," chuckled Edmund, knowing that he would be going with her even if he didn't want to. It was just how Lucy was, but he honestly didn't mind. Besides, Lucy was right, it _would_ make him feel better.

He followed her to the ladder that led up to the crow's nest, waiting while she climbed. "Hurry up, Edmund!" she called down to him, laughing.

"Be careful, Lu!" he said as he began to climb the ladder.

"Oh shush, I'll be fine, honestly! You worry too much Ed!"

He chuckled inwardly and continued to climb, reaching the crow's nest a few moments later. Lucy was gazing out over the seemingly endless sea toward the Far East, resting her forearms upon the railing. Edmund smiled softly and walked over to stand next to her, leaning against the railing.

"Edmund, do you suppose we'll ever have the opportunity to see the Far East?" asked Lucy, thoughtfully.

"Oh, I don't know," responded Edmund, following Lucy's gaze to the east. "I suppose so, if it's Aslan's will." They had come close to the Far East in an adventure a few years prior, but they had never reached the true Far East. Edmund wondered if such a place even truly existed.

"I hope so! I'm sure it's full of wonderful things! Fairies, dryads, and fantastic beings we've only heard of in stories! It would be terribly exciting!" said Lucy excitedly, her eyes sparkling.

Edmund couldn't help but laugh. "Oh Lucy, only you could imagine such a place!"

"Aslan came from the Far East so it's very real. I'm sure it's beautiful. Do you think there could be stars there? They're supposed to be people, you know," pondered Lucy. "They would be lovely, I should think, and graceful, everything a star should be."

"Perhaps you would find the land of Spare Oom there as well," he teased.

"Silly," laughed Lucy as she looked at him. "Spare Oom isn't to the East, it's in Narnia!"

"Of course, Lu, if you say so," chuckled Edmund.

"Well I do. It might just be a dream, but I feel as if we really have been there before. It's difficult to explain," said Lucy as she looked back out at the sea.

"But Lucy, that would be impossible. We've been in Narnia for as long as can remember, we've never been anywhere else!"

"How do you know it really doesn't exist?" queried Lucy, looking at Edmund. "Anything's possible in Narnia."

"That's true, but I've never come across any land of Spare Oom in any of the books I've read, and I've already been through our library twice."

"It doesn't have to necessarily be written in a book, Ed, it's here," said Lucy, touching her chest above her heart. "When we first became Kings and Queens of Narnia, we had no knowledge of other lands, and we had never seen them, but it didn't mean they didn't exist! Just because you can't see something, that doesn't mean it's not real."

"I suppose so, Lu."

"You just have to have faith." Lucy smiled. "We didn't think it possible to defeat Sirrian, or the White Witch, but we did!"

At the mention of their past battles, memories of the past enveloped Edmund and he grew quiet, his gaze thoughtful. Thinking of Sirrian brought back memories of Sheridran, the mysterious figure who had aided them in the war. _Now that we're finally going back to the Seven Isles, I'll have the opportunity to confront Prince Rouffian about Sheridran, and this time I _will_ get my answer. There are just too many indicators that they are one and the same, yet it still baffles me that Ruffles could be a skilled warrior – it just doesn't fit._

Edmund was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't see the dark, ominous clouds appearing along the horizon. He felt something pinch his arm, the pain snapping him out of his thoughts. "Ow! Lu!" She had wrapped her hand around his arm, her fingers digging into his skin as she stared out toward the horizon with barely-concealed anxiety. "Lu?" Confusion crossed his features, and he looked out towards the horizon, startled to see the dark clouds that had gathered. However, it was not the dark clouds that caused dread to fill his heart, and an icy chill to run down his spine. Lightning bolts spread out across the clouds…_green_ lightning.

"That is no ordinary storm," whispered Lucy.

Edmund continued to stare at the storm until he suddenly snapped out of his trance. "Come on, Lu, we need to help prepare the ship." He ushered her towards the ladder, following her back down to the deck. Peter and Susan had come up from down below and were now helping the crew in tying down the sails and securing anything that could possibly be tossed overboard. Edmund and Lucy joined in where they could, aiding the crew. The crew was made up of strong men, many from Archenland or the surrounding islands. Since most Narnians were not comfortable aboard a ship, they had gathered a crew from their allies.

As the black clouds drew closer, all four Pevensies moved to the railing, gazing out towards the storm. The wind had picked up, gusting fiercely, and whipping their hair and clothes around them. No matter what Edmund did, he found he could not stop gazing at the clouds.

Suddenly, the storm hit, and an icy wind cut across the ship as the waves increased, and the rain began to pour.

Then all was black.

**Yes, I left it there. Evil cliffy (insert evil laugh here)**

**I warned you all that this would be the adventure fic :- ) and just because it's a sequel, doesn't mean that the adventures can't start now! Be prepared for quite the rollercoaster!**

**PS – I am going to be out of town for the holidays, but next week I'll work on uploading the next chapter.**

**Also, a quick apology for the rather brief chapter. I had a bit more written, but then my computer decided not to save it X.X so I had to start from stratch.**


	2. The Forbidden Isle

**Disclaimer:**** Narnia and everything in it belongs to C.S. Lewis **

**A/N:**** Thank you everyone for all your kind reviews and continued support! (hands out biscuits) **

**Just a note for this story, in regards to the High Speech, etc, I'm not sure how in-depth with that I will go, but I will still stay true to the story and canon : -) Would you, as readers, prefer more High Speech? **

**Your reviews, comments, suggestions, fav parts/characters are very much appreciated, and of course, extremely welcomed!**

**The Forbidden Isle**

Edmund woke with a jolt, quite suddenly aware of bright sunlight piercing through his eyelids. He slowly brought up his hand to cover his eyes, causing a twinge of pain to run through his body. It felt as if he had been tossed from a balcony, and while he sussed nothing that awful had _actually_ happened, his body didn't agree. Very slowly, he sat up, wincing as his muscles protested the movement. Careful to keep his hand shielding his vision, he opened his eyes and blinked a few times before becoming accustomed to the intense light. What he saw was a very unfamiliar beach, and a very blue ocean that seemed to stretch endlessly to the horizon. A few waves lapped at the shore, creating a soothing, rhythmic noise.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the sounds of his siblings awakening around him, and looked over to his right where they were slowly sitting up.

"W-Where are we?" asked Susan, blinking as her eyes as they adjusted to the sunlight.

"On an island in the middle of nowhere, most likely," said Edmund as he looked around at the untamed jungle behind them, and the ocean before them.

"You don't know that," pointed out Susan. "We could very well be on the beach of Galma, or one of the Lone Islands."

"And how often do large, strange storms that turn everything to darkness, deposit you on an island you _want_ to be deposited on?" retorted Edmund.

"He has a point," said Peter as he stood slowly. If he was in pain, he didn't show it, but then again, it _was_ Peter and he never showed weakness – one of the more annoying traits of Edmund's older brother. Peter offered his hands to Lucy and Susan, helping them to their feet, and then offered a hand to Edmund.

"I'm just trying to be optimistic. You don't have to be so tetchy." said Susan with a frown as Peter helped Edmund to his feet. Edmund took a few moments to rub his sore muscles, looking around the beach and then at the dark jungle. In the distance he could see rocky cliffs rising into the sky, but other than that, no sign of anything or anyone.

"Well, perhaps there are people here, we just need to find them!" said Lucy cheerfully, smiling at them.

"Possibly," said Susan, still frowning.

Edmund tuned them out as they continued to talk, continuing to gaze around the island. He frowned, but this wasn't an unhappy frown, it was more pensive. _At the mention of other people…where is our crew?_ he thought, not sure if he wanted to know the answer. Something about this island was unsettling, and he could feel the small hairs at the back of his neck prickle.

"Ed, what's wrong?" asked Peter, snapping Edmund out of his gloomy thoughts.

"Well, haven't you noticed?" he asked, motioning around them. "There's no one else here."

"Obviously," said Susan, slightly sarcastic, but her features grew grave as she looked around.

Edmund ignored her and continued, "Where is our crew? Where are all the men who were with us on the ship? Where is our ship? There ought to be some sort of wreckage, but there's no sign of anything or anyone. No debris, no footprints, nothing."

"By the Lion's Mane, I didn't think about it that way," said Peter, his features thoughtful. "There was the storm, then it turned black, and then we woke up here."

"Perhaps the storm dropped us here," offered Lucy.

"Lu, honestly," said Susan, shaking her head. "Must I always be the voice of reason? You three are carrying on as if this is something supernatural, when it could just be nature itself. We don't _know_ what happened after the storm hit the ship, the debris could be at the bottom of the ocean, and it's quite possible that the rest of the crew washed up on a completely different side of the island." But even as Susan spoke these words, she didn't appear to believe them. She was grasping at straws, trying to keep any sort of supernatural force out of question, and out of their discussion. Especially after their battle with Sirrian, Susan had not taken very highly to supernatural events, or any discussion of them.

"Well, either way, we ought to see if we can find _someone_," said Peter, resting a hand on Susan's shoulder. "Besides, it'll be night eventually, and hopefully we'll be able to find shelter and food before then. Shall we?"

Susan sighed. "I suppose I have no choice."

"Cheer up, Susan!" said Lucy, smiling at her older sister. "It's another adventure, and high time we had one! We'll find someone – we cannot be the only ones on this island, especially since our crew was with us last time." She motioned to the three of them. "Come on!" She grinned and then began walking towards the jungle, with a slight bounce in her step.

"She's always so cheerful, even in the most hopeless of situations," chuckled Peter as he and Susan followed their sister.

Edmund stayed a few paces behind, still looking around. The initial pain he had experienced had mostly vanished, and now his focus was on the gut-feeling he had – the one that said they shouldn't be going anywhere, but who was he to argue? Over the years, his siblings had learned to trust his instincts about character, among other things, but he always had something to back him up. This time, he had nothing. However, as long as they stayed together, he felt that in the end, they would fare better; that was the only thing propelling him forward after his siblings. They were already at the edge of the jungle, and he could barely hear their voices anymore.

As he walked, his foot caught on something in the sand, and he paused, looking down. It looked to be some sort of smooth rock, but it wasn't like anything he had ever seen. Edmund bent down, digging his fingers into the stand, trying to find where the edges of the stone were. When he finally had a grip, he lifted it out of the sand. When he saw what it was, the color drained from his face. He let out a strangled cry, immediately dropping the object.

It was a human skull.

_This is bad…._very_ bad!_

When they saw Edmund wasn't following them, Peter, Susan, and Lucy all turned around. "Ed, what are you dossing about for? Come on!" called Peter, making a motion for Edmund to follow them.

There must have been something off on Edmund's features, for suddenly all three siblings grew serious, and ran over to him. "Edmund? What's wrong?" asked Susan, looking concerned. "You're as white as a sheet!"

Edmund couldn't speak, and merely pointed to the object lying in the sand. Lucy bent down and picked up the object. She let out a gasp of surprise, and quickly dropped it. "It – it's human!"

"Poor chap," said Peter, his brow furrowed from concentration. "I wonder what happened to him or how he came to be here in the first place…"

"Well I suggest we move from this area," suggested Edmund, looking around warily. "I personally do not wish to end up like him."

"Edmund's right, we should go," said Susan, managing to avoid looking at the skull. When Edmund started walking towards the jungle, Susan quickly hurried to catch up to him.

Peter nodded and followed.

Lucy, however, was still looking at the skull as the other three walked away. Edmund turned and watched as Lucy bent down and picked up something, putting it into the small pouch by her dagger. _What is she doing?_ he wondered, watching her curiously.

When she finally ran over to them, she gave them a quick smile and said, "Shall we?"

Edmund was still curious about what she had picked up, but he filed it to the back of his mind to ask her later. Their first priority was finding some sort of shelter and food, because if they didn't soon, they were not going to last for very much longer.

--

Hours later, they were still walking through the jungle, and still had not seen any sign of another human being. After what Edmund had found in the sand, he had been unusually quiet. Now that they were deep in the jungle, he couldn't help but have the feeling that some_thing_ was watching them. This feeling continued to grow, even after they found a small stream and drank their fill; even after they found some wild berries and fruit for food; and especially after it started to grow dark. Thanks to the countless survival guides and books that Edmund had read over the years, they were able to build a small fire. It wasn't a cold island, and even as the darkness crept over the island, it still remained at a comfortable temperature. However, they needed the light from the fire, as well as protection from whatever could be out there.

"Do you suppose we'll find the other side of the island tomorrow?" asked Lucy as they sat around the fire, eating the small fruits they had collected earlier that evening.

"I would rather we find people first," said Susan as she ate her last piece of fruit. "It's rather unsettling that we could be the only ones on this island."

"Finding that skull doesn't exactly bode well for finding other people," pointed out Edmund. "We would most likely run into the sort that we _don't_ wish to run into."

"Oh don't start up on that Ed," said Susan with a sigh.

"I'm just stating the facts," retorted Edmund with a frown. He glanced over at Lucy, watching as she removed something from her pouch. However, as soon as she realised they were all looking at her, she flushed and put it away quickly. "Lu, what is that?"

"Nothing," said Lucy quickly, attempting at an innocent smile.

"Lucy," said Peter sternly.

Lucy sighed, and reached into the pouch to pull out the object. She set it in her palm and held out her hand so that they could all see. It was a tiny amulet, with green stones set into a silver backing. Edmund felt his stomach twist and knot up as memories enveloped him. Those stones had been nothing but trouble. They had no idea where they had come from, or what powers were embedded within them, but he knew one thing for sure: they only caused suffering.

Edmund's features must have betrayed his inward feelings, because Lucy immediately set the amulet aside and touched Edmund's arm gently. "Ed," she said quietly, looking at him with concern. "This is why I didn't wish to show you…or to bother you with it - I didn't want you to go through this."

"I'm fine," said Edmund, batting away her hand. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly, and then looked around at them. He scowled when he saw all of them looking at him in concern. "Honestly, I'm fine, stop fretting. Now what are we going to do about this amulet? It's obviously not the first one we've encountered, and we all know what has happened in the past."

Peter looked ready to protest Edmund's declaration, but then he only said, "Even King Feldhliem was unsure of the origins of those stones, and we've had nothing but bad luck with them, this is true."

"But what to do we _do _about it?" pushed Edmund. He looked over at Lucy. "You found this by the skull?"

"It was inside it," said Lucy.

"Well that's odd for an amulet of any sort," mused Peter. "It must have been placed there…hidden perhaps?"

"But who would hide it in a _skull_?" asked Susan, arching an eyebrow.

"It was almost completely buried when I found it," said Edmund. "The tide could have receded, drawing the sand back, and revealing it. There's really no way of finding out how long it has been there."

"Does that matter?" asked Susan.

"If it was recently buried there, then that means there are other people here," pointed out Edmund.

"Which means it's quite possible that we could run into someone," said Peter, glancing around.

Edmund was quiet during their discussion, gazing into the fire. He waited a few moments before saying softly, "Well, finding this amulet has opened up another possibility." He glanced up, seeing that all of his siblings were looking at him with anticipation. "Finding this amulet here could very well be the reason why we were taken here, after that storm hit us. We all know those amulets can vary in power, and perhaps this one is able to draw people to where it lays. These are just musings, of course," added Edmund quickly. "We don't know anything for certain."

"You may be on to something Ed," said Peter, looking thoughtful.

"Well either way, we should all try and get some sleep," said Lucy. "We can take shifts on who stays awake and keeps the fire going, and then in the morning we can explore some more and see if can find anything else."

"Good idea Lu," said Peter with a smile. "I'll take the first watch."

Edmund frowned slightly, but laid down on his back, staring up at the dark treetops. Here and there he could spot the bright stars in the areas where the trees hadn't quite covered the night sky. _Another amulet…why do we keep finding these? Why is it always us? I thought we had rid ourselves of things like this. The last one wasn't completely horrid, though switching bodies with my sister wasn't exactly on my list of things I wished to do, but every other time they've caused nothing but pain. Where are they coming from? Is there someone behind all of this? I wonder what we'll find tomorrow…_

Edmund shifted slightly, the hard ground not exactly the most comfortable places to sleep, and closed his eyes, drifting off into a restless sleep.

**See? No cliffy! **

…

**For now XD**

**I will give you this hint: This sequel will answer all of those questions you've had throughout The Way Things Are and Switched concerning the green gems and the amulets that seemed to like popping up every now and then. **

**Let me know your thoughts and theories! I always love to read them XD and sometimes I can get some pretty amazing ideas from you!**


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